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GameSpy's Fallout 3 Wasteland Survival Guide

Water is the source of life, and finding clean drinking water is very difficult in the Capital Wasteland. When low on health, you'll feel the urge to drink some healing water from any source you can find. Generally you want to stay away from drinking from the more radioactive stuff, whether it's the Potomac River or the game's filthy-looking toilets. Take a look at the health to rads ratio for each water source before deciding if it's worth drinking there. Sinks are a lot cleaner than toilets, for instance, and purified water is perfectly safe, if very rare. Drinking dirty water probably does more harm than good.

One way to reduce the effects of radiation from your drinking sources is to don a radiation suit ahead of time. If you get your rad resist high enough, you can reduce the amount of radiation you'll be exposed to while drinking, making it far more reasonable as a source of healing. (How exactly does wearing an environmental suit help when ingesting radioactive material? Who cares, it's just a game!)

Prepare to Repair

The Repair skill is incredibly useful in Fallout 3, allowing you to maintain your weapons and armor by salvaging parts, resulting in increased damage and better protection.

A side benefit to repairing weapons is that the resale value of a weapon in good condition is higher than that of one that's in poor shape. If you're lugging around multiple assault rifles, repair a few to save yourself the weight of carrying them all, and you won't even lose that many caps in value.

Your primary weapons should be repaired whenever the increase in condition and damage is worthwhile. If you won't get much out of a repair, hold onto that spare weapon until your original piece degrades a bit.

Stealing Made Easy

Okay, this one feels like cheating, so use at your own risk. There are lots of times when you'll find really useful items owned by nearby shopkeepers or NPCs, from skill books and chems to weapons and armor. If you don't want to get caught stealing, there's an easy way to steal pretty much anything you like without drawing attention. The trick is to pick up an item and simply carry it away from the NPC without actually taking it. Float the item you want to steal a few paces away, preferably behind some cover, and then drop it, where you can safely steal it without being seen.

Note: There's no organized system of laws in the Capital Wasteland, so if you get caught stealing, prepare to pay with your life. Or someone else's.

Above all, the most important thing to remember is that how you approach your adventure in the Capital Wasteland is completely up to you. You're free to explore as far as the eye can see, so take advantage of it. There are countless secrets to discover in Fallout 3, and part of the fun is finding it all out for yourself.

So concludes our Fallout 3 Wasteland Survival Guide. If you're looking for more than just a helping hand, be sure to check out GameSpy's full strategy guide.